Sweet Corn Chicken Soup

This is one of my favorite Indo Chinese soup. I order it all the time at restaurants. This soup hardly takes any time to make if you have ready chicken stock with you. But, I wanted to make the stock at home. The homemade stock gives the soup a nice taste.

Preparation time: 20-30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Chicken Stock:

1 small packet of chicken drumsticks (about 12 small pieces)

1 cup celery chopped

1 tsp finely chopped ginger

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

2 carrots diced

1 onion diced

salt to taste

4 cups of water

1 can of cream style sweet corn

1/2 cup of cooked shredded chicken

1 egg beaten

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp of green chilli sauce

2 tbsp of hot and sweet chilli sauce

2 stalk of green onion diced

3 tbsp of corn starch dissolved i a little water

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp pepper powder

1 tsp chilli flakes

salt to taste

Method:

• Put all the ingredients for the chicken stock in a pressure cooker and close the lid and cook on medium heat for 2-3 whistles or until the chicken is cooked.
• Strain the liquid from the cooker in a large bowl
• Keep the cooked chicken pieces and separate the chicken from the bone, shred it nicely and discard the veggies.
• In a big bowl, combine the stock with the cream style sweet corn.
• To this add, salt, pepper, chilli flakes, all the sauces and bring it to a boil
• When you see it boiling, add the shredded cooked chicken to it.
• Then add the beaten egg slowly and keep stirring until the eggs form fine threads in the soup.
• Finally, add the cornstarch and you will see the soup thickening.
• Let it cook for 2 minutes and then you can take it out and garnish it with some sesame oil, green chillies soaked in vinegar and diced green onions.

Note: You can make the vegetarian version by using vegetable stock and using cooked vegetables instead of shredded chicken.

Crab Cakes with Pickled Garlic & Cucumber Relish

One of my dear friend is suffering from Cancer. I have been accompanying her to the hospital for her chemo treatment. It is so sad to see some young kids going through this sickness. I have come across so many young and old people with different kinds of cancer and it is so sad to see them suffer. But, I must say that this experience has helped me appreciate life better rather than simply taking it for granted.

While waiting at the hospital for her turn, I was whiling my time reading a few magazines. Suddenly, I saw this interesting recipe of Crab cakes with Pickled garlic and cucumber relish. The picture looked so appetizing that it simply caught my attention. I immediately grabbed a paper and pen from the receptionist and wrote it down. Last week, I tried it out at home and it came out really good. So, thought of sharing it with all of you...

Preparation Time: 30 minutes + refrigerating time

Makes :12 crab cakes

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

2 green onions finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped celery

2 tbsp finely chopped red bell pepper

250 gms crab meat drained

2 eggs

juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp chilli powder

11/2 cups panko breadcrumbs - divided into 2 portions (I used regular breadcrumbs)

1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

• Melt the butter in a pan. Cook onions, celery and red bell pepper for about 5 minutes and then transfer it into a bowl.
• To this, add the crab meat, 1 egg, lime juice, mayonnaise, cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin, chilli powder, 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs. Stir till it well combined.
• Make 12 crab cakes and freeze it for about 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degree F.
• Brush the baking sheet with olive oil
• Beat one egg in the bowl and put the remaining panko breadcrumbs in another bowl.
• Dip the crab cakes first into the egg and then sprinkle it with panko breadcrumbs and transfer them to the baking sheet.
• Bake for about 10 minutes on one side and then flip it and bake again for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve hot with Pickled Garlic & Cucumber Relish on top.

Pickled Garlic & Cucumber Relish

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Makes: 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

3 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tbsp cucumber finely chopped

1 tbsp red bell pepper finely chopped

2 tbsp mango finely chopped

1 tsp red onion finely chopped

1 tsp cilantro finely chopped

1/2 tsp Indian pickled garlic (you can find this in the Indian Grocery stores)

Method:

• Mix everything together and serve it on top of the crab cakes.

Grilled garlic pepper prawns

Some days back, I saw this recipe on Sanjeev Kapoor's site. Simply fell in love looking at it. So, decided to give it a try. It was a superhit. Now, I make this recipe all the time whenever I have friends over. It serves as a great appetizer.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Ingredients:

40 medium sized prawns de-veined (tail on)

4 tbsp garlic minced

salt and pepper to taste

4 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp jamaican rum

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp oil

Method:

• Heat butter and oil in a pan. When it is hot, throw in the minced garlic and sauté for a minute.
• Then add the prawns and stir-fry on for about a minute or two on either side. Season it with salt and pepper.
• When the prawns are almost ready, add the rum and lemon juice to it and mix it all well.
• Serve immediately.

Chicken 65

I have lots of fond memories about this dish. Growing up, I remember my dad used to take us out for Company picnics and one of his colleague's wife used to make this dish and get it for us to have it our way in the train. She used to make this dish so well. I have been thinking of making this dish for a long time now but always thought that it would take a lot of effort and hence simply kept forgetting about it. But, once I visited a party here in Canada, and one of the guest had made this dish. She told me a very simple way of making it and curious that I am, I immediately wanted to try it out. So, I decided to start by making a small quantity for my family and it was an instant hit. From then on, I have made this dish for several parties and have received a lot of compliments for it.

Chicken 65 is a Hyderabadi dish. It is basically a dry dish which is prepared with lots of curry leaves and lemon juice.

Preparation Time : 30 minutes + Marination time

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

500 gms. boneless skinless Chicken breasts

3 green chillies finely cut

3 tbsp hot and sweet tomato ketchup

2 tbsp oil

For the marination:

3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

11/2 tsp salt

1 tsp red chilly powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

a few drops of orange food colour

For tempering:

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 dried red chillies

6-8 curry leaves

Method:

• Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
• In a mixing bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients together.
• Coat the chicken with the marinade. There should be plenty of lemon juice to coat all the chicken pieces.
• Mix it well and cover and let this rest for about 4 hours or overnight in the fridge.
• Grease a baking tray with a little oil and transfer the chicken pieces to the baking dish. Put this in the oven at 400 degree F for about 15 minutes in the middle rack.
• Remove it and drain and discard all the fluid - keep only the semi cooked chicken aside.
• For the tempering, in a small frying pan, heat oil.
• When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter.
• To this add 2 dried red chillies and fry for a minute.
• Turn the heat to low and add the curry leaves and cover the pan again.
• Allow the curry leaves to splutter.
• Once the leaves are well fried and almost dry, remove from the heat and keep the tempering aside.
• In a separate pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil and the semi cooked chicken pieces to it. Shallow fry for about 5 minutes.
• When the chicken is almost done, add the finely cut green chillies to the pan and continue frying for about a minute or so.
• Now, add the ketchup to the pan directly over the chicken and allow it to coat all the pieces well.
• Add the tempering from the other pan to the main pan and mix it well
• Do not overcook the chicken.
• Serve hot either as an appetizer or with some vegetable pulao and raita.
  
  

Chicken Samosas

If you're an Indian food lover, then you can't miss one of India's most popular appetizer : the samosa. It generally consists of a deep fried triangular shaped pastry shell with a savoury vegetable or meat filling.

Today I decided to make chicken samosas as a snack during tea-time and it was a huge success in my house. Follow these simple steps to make a crispy samosa with a delicious and spicy chicken mince stuffing.

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Makes : 15 Samosas

Ingredients :

for the dough:

2 cups all purpose flour

salt to taste

2 tbsp ghee

11/2 cups water

OR

15 ready pastry sheets (this is what I used for the recipe)

1 egg white beaten lightly

for the stuffing:

500 gms ground chicken

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato puree or (1 tomato finely chopped)

2 green chillies finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

5 tbsp fresh coriander leaves finely chopped

1 tbsp patak's curry paste 0r (1 tsp cumin powder & 1 tsp coriander powder)

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

3 tbsp oil

for cooking the samosas:

Plenty of oil to deep fry the samosas

Method:

For making the stuffing:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and salt and fry till they they are lightly brown.
• Then add ginger garlic paste, green chillies and cook for 2 minutes
• Now add the spices (turmeric powder, chilli powder, curry paste, garam masal powder) and stir nicely. Make sure the onions are well coated with the spice mixture.
• Now add the fresh coriander chopped and the tomato puree and mix well
• To this add peas and let it cook for a minute or so.
• If the mixture sticks to the bottom of the pan, then add a little more oil to it.
• Now add the ground chicken and mix it well with the peas and spice mixture.
• Leave it to cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes. But, give it a stir after every 5-10 minutes. Spread the meat in the pan, so that it cooks evenly.
• After 20 minutes, you will see the mince has become slightly brown. Take it away from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes.

For the samosa triangles:

• Look at the video above to make the samosa triangles using pastry sheets
• Brush 1 beaten egg white over the pastry to seal the edges.
• Repeat the same procedure with the remaining pastry sheets and stuffing
• Deep fry the samosa in plenty of oil till they are golden brown on both sides
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup

If using dough then:

• In a bowl, sieve the flour and salt together
• Add the ghee and mix with fingers
• Knead into a soft dough using water
• Divide the dough into 8 equal portions
• Roll in each round into 150 mm (6") diameter chapattis.
• Divide each chapatti into 2 halves
• Make a cone from each part and stuff with samosa filling
• Seal the edges carefully using a little water
• Repeat with the remaining chapattis and stuffing
• Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown in color
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Hara bhara kebabs

This recipe is a healthy version of kebabs with a tasty blend of ingredients.

I have made these kebabs several times and found them to be a great starter / appetizer to serve before dinner. They are light and crispy and can also be served as a tea-time snack.

During college days, I used to treat my friends to these kebabs for special occasions and they used to simply love it. This is an interesting way to make your guests (who do not like eating vegetables) eat them.

These vegetable tikkis can be used to make burgers as well.

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 5

Ingredients :

2 medium sized potatoes

1 cup boiled green peas

100 gms spinach

1 tbsp chopped green chillies

2 tbsp chopped green coriander

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp chaat masala

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

salt to taste

2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)

1 tbsp lime juice

oil for deep frying

1 cup bread crumbs

Method :

• Peel and grate boiled potatoes. Mash boiled green peas.
• Blanch spinach leaves in boiling water, refresh in cold water and squeeze out excess water. Finely chop.
• Mix grated potatoes, peas and spinach in a bowl. Add chopped green chillies, chopped green coriander, ginger-garlic paste, chaat masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, lime juice and salt. Add cornflour for binding.
• Divide the mixture into twenty five equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball and then press it in between your palms to give it a flat tikki shape.
• Heat oil in a kadai or deep bottomed pan. Roll the kebabs in the bread crumbs and deep fry them in hot oil for three to four minutes.
• Tastes good as it is or you could also serve it with some hot and sweet tomato ketchup.

Tip : You may also shallow fry the hara bhara kebabs on a griddle plate or tawa. It is recommended that you do not use color in this recipe. If you feel, you may increase the quantity of spinach leaves to give a dark green color. In that case, add a little more of cornflour for binding

Knorr Chicken Noodle Soup re-invented

Today evening, my daughter was in mood to have some soup. Since, I knew she wouldn't eat anything besides the soup, I wanted to make it a full meal.

My daughter who hates spinach, just loved it this way. So here goes the recipe...

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

1 pkt of Knorr Chicken Noodle Soup

4 cups of water

3 spring onions finely chopped

1 beaten egg

1 cup of baby spinach

1/2 cup peas

Method :

• Take a pan and prepare the soup as per the instructions on the packet.
• When it starts boiling, quickly add in the beaten egg, spring onion and allow it boil for 2 minutes again.
• Then take it off the stove and put in the baby spinach. Give it a good stir.
• Knorr Chicken Noodle soup is now ready to serve.

Note: You could add any vegetable of your choice to make it nutritious.

Paneer Tikkas

My daughter simply loves eating paneer (cottage cheese). So, I decided to make this quick and easy recipe for her. Although "Paneer Tikkas" sound very elaborate, it can be prepared very quickly with some good readily available tikka marinade.

Preparation Time : 5 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serves : 3

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of Patak's tikka masala paste

4 tbsp of yogurt

200 gms of paneer cut into big 1/2"cubes

1 capsicum cut into big squares

1 tbsp of oil

1 lemon

Method:

• In a bowl, mix the tikka masal and the yogurt together
• Brush this mixture to the paneer and the capsicum and let it rest for 5 minutes
• Then take a grill pan. Spray some oil on it
• Assemble the tikkas by skewering the marinated paneer and capsicum and grill them for about 5 minutes on each side turning them around every now and then.
• If you don't have a skewer, you can also shallow fry them i a non-stick pan
• Serve them with lemon wedges and some salad.

Note: Because, of shortage of time, I just used paneer and capsicum. But you could also use other vegetables like tomatoes, onion, mushroom and grill them in a similar way.